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Chap. ..^.4.^7- 



CHARLES DEYENS, 



HENRY M. DEXTER, 



EDWARD I. THOMAS. 



CHARLES DEYENS, 



HENRY M. DEXTER, 



EDWARD I. THOMAS. 



Extract from tiik Keport of the Col->'cil, read to the American 
Antujuarian Society, April 29, 1S91. 



BY G K O R G E F . II ( > A K 



<i!il^L<nw^^■^ 



Worrcstrr, »li«s,s., HI. ,§. % 

I'KKSS OF CUAULKS UAMILTON, 

311 MAIN STUEKT, 

1891. 



\>s^ 



Henry Martyn Dexter was born in Plympton, 
M;i<s;r-1uisi'Us, August 13, 1821. He was the son of 
Elijiili Dexter, who was pastor of the Congregational 
Church there for forty-four years, and of Mary Dexter, the 
sister of Governor Marcus Morton. He entered Brown 
University, l)ut finished his college course at Yale, where 
lie was graduated in 1840. He was graduated at the 
Andovcr Theological Seminary in 1844. He was then 
settled over the Fraid\lin-sti-eet Congregational Churcli at 
Manchester, N. H., where he remained three years. In 
184it, he was transferred to the Pine-street Church, Boston, 
where he remained eighteen years. In 1851, he l)ecame 
one of the editors of the Congregationalist, the organ ol 
the Congregational Churches in New England, in founding 
which, two years before, he had taken much interest. In 
185(), he became the general editor of that paper, which 
office he held until January 1, 18()(i. In Ma}', 18(37, he 
resigned his pastorate, and became editor-in-chief of the 
Congre'ialionalisl, in which office he continued until his 
death. 

He was one of the founders of the Congregational 
QuurterJg, which he edited from 18.59 until 186(5. He was 
elected a member of this Society, April 28, 1869. He was 
also a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society and 
of the American Historical Association. He was Lecturer 
on Congregationalism at Andover Theological Seminary 
from 1877 to 1880. In 1865, he received the degree of 
Doctor of Divinity from Iowa College. In 1880, he re- 
ceived the degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology from Yale 
College. He received the degree of Doctor of Laws, from 



the same institution in 1890, being the only graduate 
of Yale on whom the two degrees have been conferred. 
He was a corporate member of the American Board of 
Commissioners for Foreign Missions. He has published a 
great numlter of important works : religious, literary and 
historical.^ 



iThe Moral Influence or Manufacturing Towns: A Dedication Ser- 
mon, pp. 32, 184S. 

UUR National Condition and its Remedy, pp. 44, 1856. 

The Voice of tue Bible, the Verdict of Reason, iip. 56. 1S.5S. 

Meeting Houses, Considered Historically and Suggestively, pp. 
29, 1S59. 

Street Thoughts, pp. 216, 18.59. 

Twelve Discourses, pp. 219, 1860. 

What Ought to Be Done With the Freedmen and With the Rebels: 
a sermon, pp. 36, 1865. 

The Verdict of Reason, etc. pp. 157, 1865. 

Congregationalism : What it Is. Wlience it Is and How it Works, pp. 306, 
1865. 

The Spread of the Gospel in the City. pp. 36, 186(i. 

A Glance at the Kcclesiastical Councils of New England, pp. 08. 
1867. 

Sermon: Funeral of Israel W. Putnam, D.D. pp. 24, 1868. 

The Church Polity of the Pilgrims, the Polity of the New Tes- 
tament, pp. 82, 1870. 

Pilgrim Memoranda, pp. 40, 1870. 

As TO Roger Williams, pp. 141, 1876. 

Pastorless Churches and Churchless Pastors: u paper before tlje 
National Council, pp. 20, 1877. 

The Congregationalism of the Last Three Hundred Years, as 
Seen in its Literature, with a Bibliography, pp. 716, 18.80. 

The True Story of .John Smyth, the Se-Baptist. pp. 86, ISSO. 

Hand-Book op Congregationalism, pp. 212, 1880. 

Common Sense as to Woman Suffrage, pp. .S3, 18S5. 

Weeds: a sermon, pp. 23, 1887. 

Early English Exiles in Amsterdam, pp. 25, 1890. 

Elder Brewster's Library, pp. 51, 1890. 

Sketch ok the Life of Increase N. Tarbox. pp. 22, 1890. 

The English and Dutch Life of the Plymouth Men. This was left 
in manuscript, nearly complete; it will be published. 

He also edited, 1865-7 :— 
Mourt's Relation, or .Journal of the Plantation at Plymouth. 
The History of King Philip's War; by Benjamin CInirch. 
The History of the Eastern Expeditions, etc.; by Benjamin Church. 

He was one of the founders and tirst proprietors of the CoHyregational 
(^luirlerlii, and wrote much lor it. 



6 

At the susfgcstion of Mrs. Harriet Reecher Stowc he 
prepared the fiinious protest against the Nehraska hill, 
to wiiich he secured the signatures of 3050 Protestanl 
clergymen in New England. He carried this protest to 
Washington, where it gave rise to a famous deliate in wiiich 
iMr. t>unuier. Mr. Everett, and afterward Mr. Rockwidl 
took a leading part on one side, and Mr. Douglas of Illinois 
on the otiier. 

Dr. De.xter was a great champion of the religious faith 
whicii lie held and of righteousness wherever it seemed to 
him to he assailed. But he was a man of a sweet and gra- 
cious gentleness in hotli manner and nature, winning and 
retaining the allection of all men with whom he came into 
any close personal relations. One of his friends from early 
youth compares him in strength and steadfastness to the 
oak which grew Ijeforo his door, and his friendship to the 
delight of its sunnner shade. He was full of a warm and 
hearty sympathy for young and old, ever ready with coun- 
sel and with help. 

The crowning honor of his life was his election to preach 
the opening sermon at the International Congregational 
Council at London, in July, 1891, for which, on the Mon- 
day before his death, he was unanimously chosen. This is 
the greatest honor which it is in the j)ower of the Congre- 
gational Churches to bestow on one of their clergymen. 

He died November 13, 18i)0. The day before his death 
he seemed in unusual health and spirits, working in his 
library as usual and making plans for his journey abroad. 
The next morning at half-past six he was found lying on 
his side, his head resting on his hand, ajiparontly asleep ; 
but he had died in his sleep without sutlcuing. 

He had been all his life a devoted student of tlu' founding 
an<l building of New England, the origin and growth other 
ideas of Christian doctrine, church government, constitu- 
tional law and civil liberty. In this knowledge he was, in 
the later years of liis life, the profoundesi living master. 



o 



He had in preparation a work upon the founders of New 
Eno-land, to be entitled "The Eno;lish and Dutch Life of 
the Plymouth Men," which had made great progress to 
completion, but which no man can tinish as he would have 
finished it. He was always welcome at the meetings of this 
Society. We had expected larger service from him in our 
special work, if his life had been spared, as he should with- 
draw himself from the engrossing activities of his work in 
his profession. Dr. Dexter left a wife and one son, the 
Rev. Morton Dexter, who was associated with him as one 
of the editors of the Congregationalist. 

Edward Isaiah Thomas, great-grandson of Isaiah 
Thomas the founder of this Society, was l)orn in Cincinnati, 
Ohio, November 19, 1833; was elected member of this 
Society October 21, 1881 ; and died in Brookline, Massa- 
chusetts, December 25, 1890. He was the son of Isaiah 
Thomas and Mary A. (Reeder) his wife, and the grandson of 
Isaiah Thomas, the only son of our ibunder. His father 
was appointed Consul at Algiers by President Lincoln, and 
sailed from New York for Havre on his way to his post in 
the Milwaukee, with two sons and a daughter. The ship 
was never heard of after she left New York. 

Edward Isaiah Thomas attended Wittenberg College in 
1852. About a year afterward he came back to Massachu-- 
setts, where he engaged in business. He married Miss 
Henrietta Williams Briggs on the 31st day of Dccemljer, 
1857, who with three daughters survives him. He settled 
in Brookline. He was a most upright, courteous, and 
worthy gentleman, of pleasant manners, full of public 
spirit, generosity and bounty. He took a large part in the 
atlairs of the town and of the Church, of which he was 
deacon for eighteen years. He was a member of the 
Massachusetts House of Representatives for the years 
1876-1880, antl of the State Senate for the years 1884- 



188"). He was several years C'liairniaii of tlic Conimittco 
on Banks and UanUinff and a member of llie Committee on 
(he revision of the Statutes in 1881. He took great inter- 
est in Mr. Duncan's important work in tlie redemption from 
l)arl)arism of tiie Mctlakahtla Indians, and was largely in- 
strumental in raising the fund for their benefit. lie highly 
prized his membership of the Society, and was a constant 
attendant at its meetings. 



o^ 



To draw an adequate portraiture of Charles Devcns 
would recjuire the noble toueh of the old masters of paint- 
ing or the lofty stroke of the dramatists of Queen Eliza- 
beth's day. He filled many great places in the public ser- 
vice with so much modesty and with a gracious charm of 
manner and behavior which so attracted and engrossed our 
admiration that we failed at first to discern the fidl strength 
of the man. It is not until after his death, when we sum 
up what hi; has done for purposes of I)iogra{)hy or of eulogy, 
that we see how important and varied has been the work of 
his life. 

Charles Devens was born in Charlestown, Massachu- 
setts, April 4, 1820. His family connections led him to take 
earl}' in life a deep interest in the military and naval his- 
tory of the country, especially in that of the War of 1812 ; 
while the place of his birth and the fact that he was the 
grandson of Richard Devcns gave to him the interest in 
the opening of the Revolution which belongs to every son 
of Middlesex. He was a pupil at the Boston Latin School ; 
was graduated at Harvard in 1838 ; was admitted to the 
bar in 1840 ; practised law in Northfield and afterward in 
Greenfield ; was Senator from Franklin County in 1848 and 
1849 ; was brigadier-general of the militia ; was appointed 
United States Marshal l)y President Taylor in 1849, holding 
that office until 1853 ; removed to Worcester in 1854 ; formed 
a partnership with George F. Hoar and J. Henry Hill 
in December, 1850 ; was city solicitor in the years 1856, 



8 

1857 and 1858. The news of the surrender of Fort Sum- 
ter was received in Worcester Sunday, April 14th. Mon- 
day forenoon came the confirmation of the news and Presi- 
dent Lincohi's call for 75,000 volunteers. General Devens 
was engaged in the trial of a cause before the supreme 
court, when the news was told him. He instantly requested 
another member of the bar to take his place in the trial, 
went immediately up street, offered his services to the gov- 
ernment, was unanimously chosen the same day major of 
the Third Battalion of Massachusetts Rifles, commissioned 
the next daj', April 16th, departed for the seat of war A]n'il 
20th. The battalion under his command was stationed at 
Fort McHenry. On the 24th of July following he was 
apj)ointed Colonel of the Fifteenth MassUchusetts Regiment. 
Gen. Devens was in command of the Fifteenth Regiment 
at the disastrous battle of Ball's Bluft', where he was struck 
by a musket ball, which was intercepted by a metallic but- 
ton which saved his life. His conduct on that da}' received 
high encomium from Gen. McClellan. He was soon after 
appointed a Brigadier-General of Volunteers, and assigned 
to a l)rigade in Couch's division of the Fourth Corps. His 
division was engaged in the battle in front of Fort Magruder 
on the 5th of May, 1862. On the 31st of the same month 
he was engaged in the most critical portion of the desperate 
fight at Fair Oaks, where his command was conspicuous for 
valor and devotion. This was one of the most stubbornly 
contested fields of the war. Gen. Devens was severely 
wounded toward the close of the day, but with a few other 
otticcrs he had succeeded in reforming the repeatedly broken 
lines and in holding the field until reinforcements arrived 
and stayed the tide of Confederate triumph. He returned 
to his command as soon as his wound would permit, and 
took part in the battle of Fredericksburg in December, 1862. 
In his official repoi't Gen. Newton says, "My acknowledg- 
ments are due to all according to their opportunities, but 
especially to Brigadier-General Charles Devens, who com- 



maiuli'd tlio iidvaiico aiul the rear guard, in the crossing and 
recro.ssing of the river." In the following spring Gen. 
Devens was promoted to the coniniand of a division of the 
Eleventh Corps. He was posted with his division of 4,000 
men on tiie extreme right of tiie fianic of Hooker's army, 
wliicli was attacked by 26,000 men under the great rebel 
leader Stonewall Jackson. Gen. Devens was wounded b}' 
a musket ball in the foot early in the day ; but he kept the 
field, making the most strenuous efforts to hold his men 
together and stay the advance of the Confederates until his 
Corps was almost completely enveloped by Jackson's force 
and, in the language of Gen. Walker, " was scattered like 
the stones and timbers of a broken dam." He recovered 
from his wound in time to take part in the campaign of 
1M(!4. His troops were engaged on the first of June in the 
battle of Cold Harbor, and carried the enemy's entrenched 
line with severe loss. On the third of June, in an attack 
which Gen. AValker characterizes as one " which is never 
spoken of without awe and 'bated breath by any one who 
participated in it," Gen. Devens was carried along the line 
on a stretcher, l)eing so crippled by inHanimatory rheuma- 
tism that he could neither mount his horse nor stand in his 
place. This was the last action in which he took an 
active i)art. On the third of April, 1865, he led the 
advance into Richmond, where the position of Military 
(iovernor was assigned to him after the surrender. Ho 
afterwards was second in command to General Sickles, 
in the Southeastern Department, and exercised practically 
all the powers of government for a year or two. This 
command was of very great importance to him as a part of 
his legal training. Upon him practically devolved the duty 
of deciding sunnnarily, but without appeal, all important 
questions of military law as well as those affecting the civil 
rights of citizens during his administration. 

He was offered a conunission in the regidar army, which 
he declined. He came baidv to Worcester in 18(>(i ; renewed 



10 

his partnership with George F. Hour for a short time ; was 
appointed justice of the superior court April, 1867 ; was 
appointed justice of the supreme court of Massachusetts in 
1873 ; was offered the appointment of Secretary of War in 
the Cabinet of President Hayes March ath, 1877 ; a day or 
two later was tendered the office of Attorney-General by 
the President, which he accepted and held until the expira- 
tion of President Hayes's administration. He was offered 
the office of judge of the circuit court of the first circuit at 
the death of Judge Shepley, which he very much desired 
to accept. But the President, although placing this office at 
his disposal, was exceedingly unwilling to lose his services 
in the Cabinet ; and Gen. Devens, with his customary self- 
denial, yielded to the desire of his chief. He was again 
a[)pointed justice of the supreme court of Massachusetts in 
1881, and held that office until his death. 

He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian 
Society October 21, 1878. He was a member of the 
Massachusetts Historical Society. He received the degree 
of LL.D. from Harvard University in the year 1877. He 
was chosen President of the Harvard Alumni Association, 
and again elected President of that Association in 1886, in 
order that he might preside at the great celebration of the 
250th anniversary of the foundation of the college, which 
he did with a dignity and grace which commanded the 
admiration of all persons who were present on that interest- 
ing occasion. He died January 7, 1891. 

General Devens gained very soon after establishing him- 
self in Worcester the reputation of one of the foremost ad- 
vocates at the bar of Massachusetts. He was a model of the 
professional character, of great courtesy to his opponent, 
great deference to the court, fidelity to his client, giving to 
every case all the labor which could profitably be spent upon 
it. The certainty of the absolute fidelity, thoroughness, and 
skill with which his part of the duty of an important trial 
would be performed, made it a delight to try cases as his 



11 

associiitc. Ill' w;is especially powerful with juries in cases 
involving the domestic relations, or whicli iiiul in tlicni 
aiiytliinic of tiio pathos of which the court-iiouse so often 
furnishes examples. lie did not care in those days for the 
preparation or argument of questions of law, altiiough he 
possessed legal learning full}' adequate to the exigencies of 
his profession, and never neglected any duty. 

His powers continued to grow as he grew older until his 
death. I tiiink he was unsurpassed in this country in the 
generation to wiiich lie belonged in native gifts of oratory. 
He had a tine voice, of great compass and power, a grace- 
ful and dignified presence. He was familiar with the best 
English literature. He had a pure and admirable style, an 
imagination which was quickened and excited under the 
stimulus of extempore speech, and was himself moved and 
stirred by the emotions which are most likely to move and 
stir an American audience. Some of his addresses to juries 
in Worcester are now remembered, under whose spell jury 
and audience were in tears, and where it was somewhat 
difficult even for the bench or the opposing counsel to resist 
the contagion. He never, however, undertook to pre[)are 
and train iiimself for public speaking, as was done by Mr. 
Clioate or Mr. Everett, or had the constant and varied prac- 
tice under which the fine powers of Wendell Phillips came 
to such perfection. But his fame as an orator constantly 
increased, so that befoi'e his death no other man in Massa- 
chusetts was so much in demand, especially on those occa- 
sions where the veterans of the war were gathered to com- 
memorate its sacrifices and triumphs. 

Among the most successful examples of his oratorio 
power is his Address at Bunker Hill at the Centennial in 
1875, where the forming the procession and the other exer- 
cises occupied the day until nearly sundown, and General 
Devens, the orator of the day, laid aside his carefully pre- 
pared oration and addressed the audience in .a brief speech. 



12 

wholly unpremeditated, which was the delight of ever^'body 
who heard it.' 

At New Haven he delivered the address Ijefore the Army 
of the Potomac in commemoration of General INIeade and 
the battle of Gettysburg, which is a fine specimen of his- 
toric narrative mingled and adorned with stately eloquence. 
At the banquet in the evening of the same day the gentle- 
man who had been expected to respond to the toast, " The 
private soldier," was unexpectedly called away, and General 
Devens was asked at a moment's notice and without prepara- 
tion to take his place. The writer has heard President 
Grant — no mean judge — who had himself listened to so 
much of the best public speaking in all parts of the coun- 
try, say that General Devens's response to this toast was the 
finest speech he ever heard in his life. The eulogy upon 
Grant delivered at Worcester, especially the wonderful pas- 
sage where he contrasts the greeting which Napoleon might 
expect from his soldiers and companions in arms at a meet- 
ing beyond the grave with that which Grant might expect 
from his brethren, is also one of the best specimens of elo- 
quence in modern times. Surpassing even these are the 
few sentences he addressed to his regiment after the battle 
of Call's Bluff. 

General Devens had a modest estimate of his own best 
powers. While he was an admiraliie judge, bringing to 
the court the weight of his great experience, his admirable 
sense, his stainless integrity, his perfect impartiality, his 
great discernment, his abundant learning, it has always 

1 We annex an extract from the diary of our associate, Mr. Henry 11. Edes, 
under date of .Tune ITth, IST.i. Mr. Edes took a very large part in maliing tlie 
arrangements for tli« centennial celebration of tliat date. 

"Tile oration by Judge Devens was magnificent. He spoke wliolly witliout 
notes and liis ert'ort was largely extemporaneous. He began by saying tliat tlie 
lateness of tbe bour ('twas nearly six o'clock) would prevent his following tlie 
train of any previously preparedeftbrt and he would brietly review Ilie history 
of tbe battle and its results upon the woi'ld's history. He spoke for nearly ah 
liour and a quarter, holding liis tine audience in rapt attention by his eloriuenei'. 
the elegance of his diction and his superb enunciation. It was, indeed, a won- 
derful eft'ort, and will cotupare favorablv with Wel)ster's great orations in '25 
and '43." 



13 

seemed to the writor that he erred after the war jii not pre- 
feriinsr politicnl life to his place upon the bench. He could 
easily have hcen Governor or Senator, in whieh places the 
afl'ection of the people of Massacliusctts would have kept 
him for a period limited only by his own desire, and might 
well have been expected to pass from the Cabinet to an even 
higher place in the service of his country. But he disliked 
political strife, and preferred those places of service which 
did not compel him to encounter bitter antagonisms. 

He was invited by President Hayes to a seat in his 
Cabinet. He tilled the place of Attorne3'-(Teneral with a 
dignitj^ and an ability which has been rarely if ever sur- 
passed by any of the illustrious men who have filled that 
great office. The judges of the Supreme Court long after 
he had left Washington were accustomed to speak of the 
admirable manner in which he discharged his duties. The 
writer quite recently heard Mr. Justice Bradley, who is 
without a superior, if not without a peer, among living 
jurists on cither side of the Atlantic, speak enthusiasticall}' 
of his recollection of General Devens in the office of Attor- 
ney-General. Judge Bradley has kindly acceded to a re- 
quest to put in writing what he had said. His letter is here 
inserted : 

Washington, January 20th, 18.91. 
Hon. Geo. F. Hoar. 

My Dear Sir: — You ask for my estimate of the services 
and character of Gen. Devens as Attorney-General of the 
United States. In general terms I unhesitatingly answer, 
that he left upon my mind the inqiression of a sterling, 
nol)le, generous character, loyal to duty, strong, able, and 
courteous in the fulfilment of it, with such accunmlation of 
legal acquirement and general culture as to render his coun- 
sels highly valuable in the Cabinet, and his putilic efforts 
exceedingly graceful and effective. His professional ex- 
hibitions in the Supreme Court during the four years that 
he represented the Government, were characterized by 
sound learning, chastely and accuratel}' i'xpressed, great 
breadth of view, the seizing of strong points and disregard 



14 

of minute. ones, marked deference for the court and cour- 
tesy to his opponents. He was a model to the j'ounger 
members of the bar of a courtly and polished advocate. 
He appeared in the court only in cases of special impor- 
tance ; but of these there was quite a large number during 
his term. As examples, I may refer to the cases of Young 
V. United States (97 U. S. 39), which involved the rights 
of neutrals in our civil war, and particularly the alleged 
right of a British subject, who had been engaged in running 
the blockade, to demand compensation for a large quantity 
of cotton purchased In the Confederacy and seized by the 
military forces of the United States ; — Reynolds v. United 
States '(98 U. S. 14,5), which declared the futility of the 
plea, in cases of bigamy among the Mormons, of religious 
belief, claimed under the first amendment of the Constitu- 
tion ; and established the principle that pretended religious 
belief cannot be accepted as a justification of overt acts 
made criminal by the law of the land ; — The Sinking Fund 
Cases (99 U. S. 700), which involved the validity of the 
act of Congress known as the Thurman Act, requiring the 
Pacific Railroad Companies to milke annual ])ayments for a 
sinking fund to meet the bonds loaned to them l)y the Gov- 
ernment; — Tennessee v. Davis (100 U. S. 257), as to the 
right of a United States officer to be tried in the Federal 
courts for killing a person in self-defence whilst in the dis- 
charge of his official duties : — The Civil Rights case of 
Strander v. W. Virginia and others (100 U. S. 303-422), 
in which were settled the rights of all classes of citizens, 
irrespective of color, to suffrage and to representation in 
the jury box, and the right of the Government of the 
United States to interpose its power for their protection ; — 
Neal V. Delaware (103 U. S. 370), by which it was de- 
cided that the right of suffrage and (in that case) the con- 
sequent right of jury service of people of African descent, 
were secured by the 15th Amendment of the Constitution, 
notwithstanding unrepealed state laws or constitutions to 
the contrary. 

In all these cases and many others the arguments of the 
Attorney-General were presented with distinguished abilit,y 
and dignity, and with his habitual courtes}- and amenity of 
manner; whilst ins Ijroad and comprehensive views greatly 
aided the court in arriving at just conclusions. In all of 



15 

them he was suecessi'iil ; and it may 1)0 said (iial lie rarely 
assumed a position on helialf of tlie (iovernmenl, in any 
important case, in which he was not sustained i)y the judsr- 
ment of the court. His advocacy was conscientious and 
Judicial rather tluin experimental — as is eminently lifting in 
the otiicial representative of the Government. It host sub- 
serves the ends of justice, the suppression of useless litiga- 
tion, and the prompt administration of tlie law. 

I can only add that the members of the Supreme Court 
parted with Attorney-General Devens with regret. Of 
him, as of so many other eminent lawyers, tlie reflection is 
just, that the highest efforts of advocacy have no adecpiate 
memorial. Written compositions remain; hut the noblest 
displays of human genius at the bar — often, perhaps, the 
successful assaults of Freedom against the fortresses of 
Despotism — arc lost to history and memory for want of 
needful recordation. Vixere fortes an/e A(/ameinno>ia ; or, 
as Tacitus says of the eloquent Haterius, '.'Whilst the plod- 
ding industry of scribblers goes down to posterity, the sweet 
voice and fluent eloijuence of Haterius died with himself."' 
Very Truly Yours. 

JosEi'ii r. Bkadlky. 

General Devens took no active pait in the work of this 
Society, although he was quite a frequent attendant at our 
meetings. He liiul lioi)cd before long, if he had lived, to 
write for us a })ai)er on the government of Massachusetts 
during the period between the breaking out of tlie Revolu- 
tion and the adoption of the Constitution of 1780. This 
work, if done at all, must be done by other hands. But he 
was an admirable historical investigator and narrator. He 
carefully investigated the facts. He told the stor^' of the 
heroic days of the Revolution and of tiie iieroic days of the 
War for the Tnion with a graphic jtower which will give 
liis addresses on such subjects a perniancnf place in our 
best liistorical literature.' 



I The following is a partial list of tlio publications of Genrnil Devens:— 
I.,ETTEU. To Hon. Henry Wilson, U. 8. Senator, December IC, 18(U. 
Address. Before the Army of thi- .lanus, delivered Sc])t. 2, ISfiS. 
ORATION. ()u (ieneral Meade, delivered at Xew Haven, May li, 1873. 
Oration. On Centennial of Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 187.5. 



16 

But it is as a soldier that his countrymen will remember 
him, and it is as a soldier that he would wish to be remem- 
bered. Whatever may be said by the philosopher, the 
moralist, or the preacher, the instincts of the greater por- 
tion of mankind will lead them to award the highest meed 
of admiration to the military character. Even when the 
most selfish of human passions, the love of power or the 
love of fiime, is the stimulant of the soldiei-'s career, he 
must at least be ready for the supreme sacrifice — the will- 
ingness to give his life, if need be, for the object he is pur- 
suing. But when his end is purely unselfish, when the love 
of country or the desire to save her life by giving his own 
has entire mastery of the soul, all mankind are agreed to 
award to the good soldier a glory which it bestows nowhere 
else. 

There was nothing lacking in General Devens to the 
complete soldierly character. He had a passionate love of 
his country ; he was al)solutely fearless ; he never flinched 
before danger, sickness, suflering or death. He was 
prompt, resolute, and cool in the face of danger. He. had 
a warm and affectionate heart. He loved his comrades, 
especially the youth who were under his command. He 
had that gentle and placable nature which so often accom- 
panies great courage. He was incapable of a permanent 
anger. He was still less capable of revenge or of willing- 
ness to inflict injury or pain. 

As Clarendon says of Falkland, " He had a full appetite 
of feme by just and generous actions, so he had an equal 
contempt for it by base and servile expedients." He never 



Oration. Dedication of Soldiers' Mouiimeiit at Boston, Sept. 17, 1S7T. 
Al>Dl{E8S (2). On General Grant; one at Boston and one at Worcester, Anjt. 

1885. 
Address. To the Fifteenth Mass. lieginient, at Gettysburg, .Tunc 12, ISSC. 
Oration. On General Sheridan, before the Loyal Le.i,'ion, Nov. 7. ISSS. 
OitATiON. On the 2."i(Jth Anniversary of the Loyal Legion, at Philadelphia, 

April 15. 1890. 
Address. At the 2.50th Anniversary of Ilarvaijl University. 



17 

for an instant tolerated tliat most perniciou.s and pestilent 
heresy, that so k)ng as eaeli side heiieved itself to he in the 
rijiht there was no difference between the just and the un- 
jnst cause. He knew that he was contending for the life of 
his country, for the fate of iunnan liberty on this continent. 
No other cause would have led him to draw his sword ; and 
he cared for no other earthly reward for his service. 

"Oil just ami faithful kiiij^bt of tiod. 
KiUeou, the prize is ucar." 



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